585: Chapter 586? The System?

"Sword Qi roaring like thunder, splitting into thousands, how is this possible?"

Chen Xuanbi's eyes revealed a look of shock.

He was originally from a Spirit-Forging Family and also a Sword Cultivator, naturally knowing what kind of attainment the realm of Sword Qi roaring like thunder and splitting into thousands was in the Dao of Sword.

Logically speaking, only a Great Grandmaster of the sword who had immersed themselves in the Dao of Sword for decades or centuries could handle it so effortlessly.

Yet the person before him—clearly this person was a good-for-nothing who hadn't even entered Qi condensation not long ago.

But now he could possess such methods, practically subverting his cognition.

However, at this moment, he had no mind to care about these things, simply because this sword strike was both fast and vicious, reaching right in front of him in a flash of lightning, and the aura of death hit him head-on!

Chen Xuanbi and Su Wanqing instinctively wanted to resist, only to find themselves firmly locked on by that Sword Intent, completely unable to dodge.

The shadow of death rushed towards them, and they seemed to already feel the icy touch of the blade tip reaching their faces.

"No!!!"

Both of them let out a shrill scream, a look of despair surfacing in their eyes.

However, at that critical moment, a radiant protective light barrier lit up simultaneously on both of their bodies!

That light barrier, like a layer of transparent glazed glass, firmly enveloped the two of them within.

Thousands of sword images crashed fiercely into the light barrier, producing a continuous sound of metal clashing, shaking the entire hospital ward with the risk of collapsing at any moment.

However, although the light barrier vibrated incessantly, it ultimately held firm and did not shatter.

Clearly, the protective items left on them by the Golden Core Ancestor of their respective families had been triggered.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's brow furrowed slightly and imperceptibly.

In fact, such matters were very common in the Cultivation World; elders in the Family would generally give protective items to their juniors when they went out for experience.

Logically speaking, he should have thought of it, but perhaps he stood too high.

Making him not associate it with this aspect at all, so that his must-kill sword strike completely missed.

And perhaps because the commotion here was simply too great, it had already attracted the attention of people outside.

Soon, hurried footsteps came from outside the door at this moment.

Then several bodyguards dressed in black martial attire were seen rushing in.

When they saw the utter mess inside the hospital ward, their complexions changed drastically at once.

"Young Master Chen! Young Miss Su! What happened?"

Several bodyguards in black quickly swarmed in, protecting the two behind them.

Their gazes swept across the littered ground, and seeing the shaken expressions of Chen Xuanbi and Wan Qing, their faces turned iron-green one by one.

These two were bodies of a thousand gold; if the slightest mishap occurred, ten lives of theirs wouldn't be enough to pay for it.

Fortunately, both of them had protective items given by their Family's Old Ancestor and did not suffer substantive harm.

At this time, Su Wanqing hid behind the light barrier, her eyes filled with fear and panic as she looked at the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord.

Her fingers pointing at the other party trembled, unable to care about her consistently maintained elegant posture, her voice becoming sharp and trembling.

"Madman, you are simply a madman!"

Compared to the somewhat broken-defense Su Wanqing, Chen Xuanbi was much better off.

Although he was also startled into a cold sweat by that sword strike just now, after looking at the protective jade talisman given by the Old Ancestor at his waist and the bodyguards pouring in, that arrogant momentum reignited.

"I didn't expect you, this good-for-nothing, to actually hide so deeply."

Chen Xuanbi sneered, staring gloomily at the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord.

"So what if you did? At the end of the day, you are nothing more than a Qi-condensation ant, but my Southern Chen Family is a Golden Core Spirit-Forging Family! What do you have to compare with me?

Today you will undoubtedly die, and no one can save you."

Before the words fell, the eight bodyguards in black had tacitly dispersed their formations, vaguely blocking all retreat paths of the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord.

Their auras were steady and their steps neat; they were clearly well-trained and could be considered elite at least among Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Yet listening to those harsh sarcastic words and watching the bodyguard formation surrounding and blocking him, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's expression was as calm as water.

He did not reply, only beginning to slightly step back, his figure gradually approaching the window, his gaze calmly sweeping over every person present.

Eight bodyguards, plus Chen Xuanbi and Su Wanqing—ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the opposite side.

Although he didn't take these people seriously, with his current Ninth Layer Qi Condensation cultivation, wanting to deal with all of them would probably require paying a not-so-small price.

Furthermore, once fighting started, the commotion would only grow larger, and by then attracting attention from a higher level would make things troublesome.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord had long passed the stage of acting on impulse, knowing well that as long as the green mountains remain, there's no lack of firewood.

Leaving this place of right and wrong first, and coming back for revenge after improving his strength was not too late; there was simply no need to fight to the death with the other party here.

He quickly made a judgment in his heart, his figure pulling back slightly, preparing to escape through the window.

However, the moment his steps moved, his expression abruptly changed, and his figure stiffened in place.

Just because a mechanical voice rang out without warning in his Sea of Consciousness, that voice seeming to come from the depths of his Divine Soul, clearly audible.

[Ding — — Slaughter System activating...]

[Detected that the host is in a combat state, System binding complete.]

[The rules of the Slaughter System are as follows: By killing enemies, the host can acquire their entire cultivation, lifespan upper limit, and Law imprints.

Those killed will not enter Reincarnation, and their lifelong Dao fruit will feed back into the host entirely. The more you kill, the stronger you become, endlessly.]

"Eh?"

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord stayed frozen in place, his expression almost breaking.

In fact, at that very moment just then, he thought someone was sneak-attacking him with Divine Sense sound transmission, but he quickly realized something was wrong.

That voice seemed to be born from within his own Divine Soul, carrying an indescribable sense of "true self", definitely not an external force invasion.

However... what the hell is a System?

He wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the concept of a "System".

During this period of understanding this world, he had indeed seen such things in some strange storybooks and novels.

Especially things like rotten persimmons, terms like "System novel" and "Golden Finger", running rampant in those texts.

At the time, he simply regarded it as absurd things fantasized by Mortals who couldn't attain the Immortal Dao and were depressed and unfulfilled in this world, or Cultivators with poor Aptitude, and didn't take it to heart at all.

Yet who would have thought that this thing would actually appear in his Sea of Consciousness now.

However, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord quickly calmed his mind.

The Cultivation World had all sorts of wonders, and the appearance of some strange things was naturally the norm.

And turning his thoughts, he spontaneously concocted a set of self-consistent logic.

Could it be because he possessed the Law of Reincarnation and was entering the Reincarnation world for trial, that this world automatically provided him with a certain convenience and protection?

Since this world was the stage for the Reincarnation trial, it naturally had corresponding mechanisms to assist trial-takers in growing.

And this sudden "Slaughter System" was probably one of the links.

Mm, very reasonable.

However... why did the voice of this System feel somewhat familiar?

Although the voice carried an obvious electronic synthetic texture, that timbre and tone seemed like he had heard them somewhere, yet he could never remember.

It was just that he had no time to investigate further at this moment, because he perceived that the eight bodyguards had completed their encirclement posture, faintly showing signs of making a move.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord withdrew his mind, deciding to make a strategic retreat after all.

Even with this damn System, it didn't help his current situation all that much.

According to what was said on the System, killing people could make one stronger, but the premise was that he had to kill one first.

And right now he was still at the Ninth Layer Qi Condensation; if he forcefully broke through, although there were chances of winning, it wasn't stable enough.

However, the moment his thought arose, that cold mechanical voice rang out once more.

[Ding — — Detected that the host's situation is dangerous, the Novice Gift Pack is about to be issued.]

"Mm, a Novice Gift Pack?"

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was slightly stunned, not understanding why.

But that mechanical voice seemed to know what he was thinking in his heart, giving an answer the next moment.

[The Novice Gift Pack is the initial benefit upon System binding. Detecting that the host is currently facing a predicament, a certain amount of assistance is additionally provided.

The contents of the pack are as follows: Fifty years of pure cultivation, no side effects, perfectly adapting to the host's Foundation, can be directly refined and absorbed.]

Regarding these words, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was half-believing and half-doubtful.

Having lived for tens of thousands of years, he knew deeply that there was no free lunch in the world; behind such pie-in-the-sky matters often hid even greater traps.

And where on earth was there cultivation with no side effects, perfectly adapting to one's own Foundation, and capable of being directly refined?

However, he was not in a rush to refuse either; since this System had already appeared, it obviously had a certain logic, and trying it out himself wouldn't hurt.

Anyway, even if he found something wrong afterwards, he had the confidence to eradicate the hidden dangers.

And at this moment he also happened to need this cultivation to resolve the current predicament.

Therefore...

"Claim!"

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord muttered in his heart, extracting that portion of "fifty years of cultivation" from the gift pack.

At that instant, an extremely pure torrent of spiritual power surged into his limbs and bones like a breached river!

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's eyes instantly lit up.

He never expected that what the System gave was truly not fake goods.

That energy was as pure as if it were naturally formed, perfectly matching his own aura, as if it originally belonged to him, without a shred of estrangement or repulsion.

However, he still cautiously probed that spiritual power from beginning to end with his Divine Sense, and only truly breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there were no hidden hands, Restrictions, or unknown auras within.

Since that was the case, then he would refine it.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's surrounding spiritual power began to operate frantically.

That fifty years of cultivation poured into his limbs and bones like scalding molten lava, eventually converging into the Dantian in his abdomen.

The path of Foundation Establishment, he had already experienced countless times as early as in the Xuanxiao Realm.

After all, he frequently used Reincarnation Clones to stir up trouble, and when these Clones broke through, he would experience it all over again, so breaking through Foundation Establishment at this time was simply familiar work, without any obstructions.

As that pure spiritual power circulated within his body, it logically broke through barriers layer after layer, like water flowing over an already dried-up riverbed, unimpeded.

In just a short moment, his aura abruptly leaped from the Ninth Layer Qi Condensation to the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, and then continued to climb until it slowly stabilized at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

That process was so fast it was simply like water flowing to form a canal, without even stirring up a ripple.

Yet in the eyes of Chen Xuanbi, Su Wanqing, and the others, all of this was as if they had seen a ghost.

Qin Ming, who had just been at the Ninth Layer Qi Condensation, at this moment had his surrounding spiritual power aura unexpectedly surge by several levels without warning.

That breaking-through momentum erupted abruptly like breaking through bamboo, making the entire room slightly stagnate because of it.

"Ho... how is this possible?!"

Su Wanqing cried out in shock, her eyes full of disbelief.

Which good person breaks through Foundation Establishment just by standing there!

Shouldn't one calm their mind and adjust their state until their essence, energy, and spirit reach their Peak, and only then begin charging at Foundation Establishment?

Since when was breaking through Foundation Establishment so sloppy?

And Chen Xuanbi's expression sank completely at that moment.

He had originally thought the other party was just a Qi-condensation ant, and even if his methods were bizarre, he couldn't stir up any big waves.

Yet at this moment, the other party openly broke through to Foundation Establishment right in front of him, that composure and ease making his spine run a chill.

When at the Ninth Layer Qi Condensation, the other party could wipe away the Divine Sense imprint he left on the spiritual sword and force him to use the Old Ancestor's protective talisman with a single sword technique; now that he had broken through Foundation Establishment, his combat power would inevitably rise to a higher level.

But he then stabilized his mind again.

He had the protective item left behind by the Golden Core Ancestor on his body, and eight elite bodyguards by his side; even if the other party broke through, he was only at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and two fists are no match for four hands.

Furthermore...

A trace of greedy light flashed across Chen Xuanbi's eyes.

He suddenly thought that the other party's earth-shattering bizarre state during this period of time was obviously not the progress a normal Cultivator should have.

This meant that there must be a huge secret hidden on the other party.

Perhaps it was taking a certain Medicinal Pill, perhaps a certain Cultivation Technique, or perhaps a secret treasure.

If he could seize this secret, could he also soar into the skies?

Greed wrapped around his heart like a poisonous snake, making his gaze become even more gloomy and scorching.

He no longer hesitated, waving his hand abruptly and shouting sternly.

"Up! Take him down for me! Just leave him breathing!"

The eight bodyguards looked at each other; as Foundation Establishment Cultivators, their spiritual senses told them that nine times out of ten, something was severely wrong.

But as bodyguards, obeying professional ethics was the most basic standard. After the master gave the order, they did not dare to resist, immediately responding and moving into action!

They simultaneously drove their spiritual power, their figures pouncing towards the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord from multiple directions like cheetahs, the lights of spiritual power intertwining into an inescapable net within the narrow hospital ward!

Yet the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord only gave a ferocious smile.

His figure did not retreat but advanced instead, crashing towards the bodyguard formation like an afterimage!

Bringing his fingers together like a sword, his surrounding spiritual power condensed at a single point on his fingertips, touching and leaving instantly like a butterfly weaving through flowers within the gaps of the spiritual power intersection of the bodyguard rushing at the very front.

"Pfft!"

Without any surprise, after the Breakthrough, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's cultivation had already surged.

That finger accurately pierced through the other party's throat, and amidst flying blood, that bodyguard collapsed to the ground with a loud thud without even being able to let out a scream.

Instant-killing a Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

And at the very moment the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord killed the other party, he clearly felt a power pure to the extreme surge into his body as if being pulled the moment the other party's vitality was cut off, converging into his Dantian.

That power was as pure and matching as the spiritual power he had painstakingly refined just now.

Like a thirsty person drinking a sip of sweet spring water, it made his whole body comfortable.

Although this time it didn't continue to break through, it also allowed his aura to step forward by a small margin.